Continuous mica board making machine



May 2, 1933. 1 M, CQFFEY 1,906,541

CONTINUOUS MICA BOARD MAKING MACHINE Filed June 50, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 2,- 1933. J. M. coFFEY CONTINUOUS MICA BOARD MAKING MACHINE Filed June 30, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 gm, 1n, BY $044 Z/LTTORNEYS May 2, 1933. J. M. coFFEY 1,906,541

CONTINUOUS MICA BOARD MAKING' MACHINE Filed June 5o, 192e 4 sheets-sheet s @GOOOOOOOOOOOO )N f i cccc-oc-COCCCC'G" j J 'I /f/ ZL d za J 5' lNVENTOR :5 www? BY 5244+ M ATTORNEYS May 2, 1933. J. M. col-'FEY CONTINUOUS MICA BOARD MAKING MACHINE Filed June 30, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR M 7H @#7 BY ATTORNEYS Patented May 2, 1933 i,

" uNifrliziifk JOSEPH M. ooisrEir,y oEscHENECTADY, NEW Yoan, AssIef1'von--Toiin/'enIivsiiiinfron`L- coivirAnxoE iviiiiruvoniz,y N. l.acontromirroiror:NEW JERSEY 1 CONTINUOUS micABoAR-niimxinenmcnnin i i 'Application filed June 30',

My invention is concerned with machines for making -mica board and the like. My novel machineis fully automatic, will make boards of a Wide range of thicknesathat is,

5 of a Wide range inthe number of micalayers,V

and operates at a speed much above that of any heretofore known machine designed for the purpose. My machinetakes care of the complete manufacture of'micaboard, that is, i

board at the other end ready for commercial hardening by'heat andy pressurein the usual manner. Formerly the most improvedma?l 15T chines for making mica boardy havey been only partly automatiqhave requiredithe constant attendance of several skilledoperatiors, and have had a verylimited range of product.v

ation of various parts.

Mica boardis made of various layers of'V mica flakes cemented together by means ofa binding material such as shelIac. Cloth orpaper is sometimes :used on one or both faces of the completed board as' desired. The. thickness of the board varies with the number of mica'iayers superimposed. Due to the ne-y cessityk of building` this board by superiml posing layer upon layer, machines have heretofore been able to make only given lengths at one time, or have had -to-be continually stopped and started andaccurately controlled V35'byhand in the timing of the various operations involved. My machine permits of the continuous feediiigof mica flakes to one end of the machine with the 'continuous .produc-H tion of mica board ofany desired number of 0. layers from the other end, the machine running continuously with no necessity formanual control at anypoint. More Ispeciiically it comprises a feeding device; a continuously.

r moving endless conveyor; .a jsuction -mecha-y msm for lifting the mica flakes from the it is adapted to receive mica flakes and cement` ing iiiaterialat one end andto'producemica f mechanism; f

192s. seni-.115110. 289,530.

feeding device and 'for depositing'tliem upon the conveyor; a cementing device for deposit-` inga layer of binding materia over so much yof the mica as Will be covered by succeeding layers of flakes; an oven lthrough Whichtlie conveyor passesfor drying theV binding'makk terial; a Winding devicefor the produced fb'oard; and cleaning andidrying-ineans for the conveyor after the removal of the board. An'

arrangement of gears and belts; etc. permits of adj ustmentof the' ratio of the rate of travelV e of thecoiiveyorto that of the screens and suction apparatus; thuscontrolling the number of layers in the completed product. i

For. al better understanding of the various features of novelty of my invention reference should-be had lto the accompanyingdrawings e in Whiclilhave illustrated one form oi"` the completeginachine together with a modification Vof'ce'rtain parts thereof. 1

`l`Fig. l -is aside view of my complete'mae lQFig. 2 is kaplan view of the same; VFig.- 3 isa detail ofthe funnel drive showiiigthefclutchmechanism; u j FigJl is a planviewshowing the 'longitudinally reciprocating rack of the funnel drive /Fig pis an enlarged transversesecti'on of a portion of the rack and driving means. therefor;` f e Fig. 6 is a transverse-sectional view ofthe machinettakeny on the liney 6 6 of Fig. 2 showing the oven construction; l v

. Figff' is a^ detail of *e he suction control, showing the'damper inthe partially open po#v sition;".. "i i Fig. Sis'an enlarged'transverse section of ap'ortion ofFigf( showing the latch device; Fig. 9 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 8 but at right angles thereto;1;j` e Y Figs. l() aiidv l1 villustrate the controlling` iiieansffor the'cementing device; r n Figs.'l2and M13 illustrate the damper operating means for the return of eXcess mica flak-es to the feeding device; and

Figs. 14 and 15 are cross-sectional and plan views respectively of an alternative .arrangement of a part of the machine of Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the machine comprises a feeding device 74 associated with a box 22 for receiving mica flakes therefrom, a reciprocating suction mechanism including funnels 17 for liftingthe flakes from the box 22, a traveling endless conveyor 32 for receiving` the flakes from the suction mechanism, a feeding device 54 for depositing cementing material between the layers of mica, an oven 2 for drying the cement, vand a roller 69 upon which thelproduced board-is Wound.

The drive for the machine is as follows: Power is supplied from a motor, 1, which is mounted on top of the oven casing 2. The motor 1, by means of a belt 3, Worm reduction gear 4, and chain 5 drives a counter shaft 6, which, in turn, through a chain 7 drives a sprocket 3 (Fig. 3). The sprocket 8 through a clutch 9 to Which it is fastened, drives a horizontal shaft 10 and the shaft 10,

through mitre gears 11 drives a verticalf shaft 12 carrying a sprocket 1-3 (Figs. 3*, 4

. and 5). Sprocket l'engages with pins 14 on a rack 15 to cause a reciprocating motion of the rack, which in turn through tie rod 16 attached to the rack and to the carriage of funnels 17, causes the funnel carriage tov .i move forward and back at full length of the stroke of rack 15. The reciprocating movement of the rack 15, by means of the unidirectional rotation of sprocket 13 engaging in turn each of the pins 14 Will be clear from Fig. 4 in Which two positions of the rack are illustrated. The rack 15 comprises the central elongated part 18carrying the pins 14,

and an outer part 19, forming between 'them a trough 20. On the lower end of vertical shaft 12 is a roller 21 which runsin the trough 2O and thus guides the rack (see Fig. 5). As sprocket 13 rotates, it engages in turn each of pins 14 until therack is at one or the other extreme of its motion With the sprocket 13 in a horizontal line with the pins 14. The continued rotation of the sprocket engaging With the end pin gives a slight transverse motion to the rack followed by a reversal of its longitudinal motion.

When the rack is in the extreme position shown in full lines in Fig` 4 the funnels 17 are in position over a boX 22 into which mica flakes are automatically fed, as Will be eX- plained hereinafter. At this eXtreme position the funnels are held stationary long enough for a layer of mica flakes to be picked up by suction developed Within the funnels and held upon a screen (not shown) attached to the bottom of the funnels. To accomplish this 'period of rest of the funnels, a sprocket 24 (Fig. 2) is mounted on counter shaft 6 to drive a cam 25 (Fig. 3g by means of chain 26, shaft 27 and gears 2 The cam 25 operates to disengage clutch 9 permitting rack 15 torelnain idle for the required period of time. Gear reduction 4 is connected positively through countershaft 6 to cam 25 and to sprocket y8 so that the time element is positive in the stationary position of funnels 17. The cam motion and clutch obviate the necessity for stopping and starting the main drive mechanism.

The suction necessary to pick up the mica flakes is developed by a blower 23 exhausting from Vthe pipe 29 leading from the funnels. This pipe is provided with a televent leakage. A damper 31 in the pipe 29 controls the suction at the entrance to the funnels. At the position of rest of the funnels, the damper 31 must be open to allow the mica flakes to be lifted to the screen. As the funnels move to the right only sufficient suc` tion to hold the flakes upon the screen is desirable; so that the damper 31, during this movement of the funnels, is but partiall open. At the limit of travel rof the funnel the damper is closed-,t0 permit the flakes to fall from the screen on the conveyor 32. The reduction in suction during the movement. of the funnels to the right is desirable-both to insure arapid release of the flakes from the screen upon closure of the damper, and to prevent any picking up of the preceding layer of mica from the conveyor should the screen not be completely covered by the mica layer being carried. Any suitable means for automatically coordinating the control of the damper 31 with the movement of the funnels may be provided. Th'e particular damper controlling means Which I have illustrated can best be understood from Figs. 7, 8, and 9, to which reference is now directed. The damper 31y is mounted to turn in a horizontal plane about a pivot "33. An arm 34 of the damper has a roller 35 attached to its extremity and has mounted upon it near the pivotal point of the damper a latch device 36. -A weight 37 (see Fig. 1) is attached by means of a cord 38 to the damper arm at a point between the latch device and roller, the Weight tending to hold the damper in the closed position. As the funnels approach the extreme left end of their travel, the roller 35 comes into contact With a stop 39 (see Figs. 1 and 2) Which opens the damper against the pull of the Weight 37. As the funnels move to the right, removing the roller from contact With the stop 39, the Weight pulls the arm 34 until a projecting member 40 on the latch 36 comes into Contact With a stop 41 which is Vrigidly attached tothe pivot 33. In this position the damper is held in a partly open position such as topermit only suction sullicient to hold n Vreo the mica flakes against the screenV during the.v travelof the funnels to the right. `'lheprowardly'projecting member 43 is'. likewise rigidly attached to thershaft`42. As the funnelsl approachv their limit of travel the upwardlyv projecting member ,43 of' the latchy device comes into contact with a fixed stop 44 (see Figs.- 1 and 9), whichrotates themember 43y against the tension of a spring 43a and there- Y by--lifts the projection 40 releasing itfrom the stop-41. The damper then closes under the pull of `the weight 37 andl remains closed during the returnv travel of the funnels.

. kThe mica flakes, upon closure offthe damp-y er, fall from the-screen on to the continuously moving conveyor 32. The conveyor is preferably. in the form of a spiral perforated belt. The'drive for the conveyor is as follows; The

worm reduction gear 4,through sprocket 45,v

(Fig. 2), a chain 46, variable speedtransmission'47 and chain 48 drives speed reducer 49. Speedk reducer 49, through chain 50, drives sprocket "51,k attached to a drum .52. Drum -52 is equippedavith two sprockets,

` one on either side which engage with chains 53 attached to the belt 32 (Fig. 2). f The belt is thus' made to advance in uniform manner at speed controlled by the variable speed transmission 47. v

To produce varying thicknesses of mica' plate itis necessaryto superimpose varying numbers of'layers of'flakes fone on the other. By adjusting the speed of belt 32 lthrough the .medium of the variablev speed transmissionV 47 the.l ratio ofthe s peedof `the belt to that ofthe funnel vmovement is controlled, and thereby thenumber of superimposed layers of micais'f likewise controlled. If,'for example, the length vof the screen andy funnels is 7 2 inches,`a`nd if, during the complete cycle of the motion of the funnels, the belt 32 advances 72'inches, there will be produced a singlelayer of mica on the belt. If the speed ofl the -belt is reduced `to '36inches during thecycle of the funnels 17, there will be deposited on thebelt 32 two overlapping layers of mica. The desired thickness of board can thus be produced by'reducingthe speed of belt 32 through the ymedium of the variable speed transmission to superimpose the proper number of layers of mica. j

In making mica board it is necessary that the layers ofk mica flakes should be cemented together by a suitable binder, such asshellac or' a suitable synthetic resin. lAutomatic means for depositing such al binder are provided in my machine.V FiXedly mounted yon.

which is locatedv in a plane parallel to that. of the belt 32 with vits axis 'perpendicular' to the direction of travel of the belt.. It is provided with a series of valve controlled orifices `along its lower side; The valves f 55 for these `orifices are controlled Vby f alifter 55a operated by'a cam 56 and spring 57. The cam 56 is pivotally mounted on the container 54 and vcomprises a curved portion k58 and an arm 59. The spring 57 is attached at one end tothe portion58 and at the other end to an end'wallfof the container 54. The portion 58 is shaped to raise valve lifter 55a by'rotation against the tension of spring 57 '.r A lever 60 is linked rat one end to the arm 59-and at.

its other end carries a roller 61. ,v Suitably positioned along the framework of the machine is a runway 62 for the roller 61. The arrangement is such that as vthe funnels 17 move' tothe right'carrying the mica. flakes to ybe deposited the various parts of the ce-V mentingdevice described above are as shown in Fig. 11, with spring 57'holdingI the cam 56in a position to permit the valve 55 to close the orifices. Before the funnels reach the extreme right end of their travel, the roller 61l passes off the runway 62, but the orifices remain closed due to spring 57. The funnels then `deposit their burden of mica, due to the automatick closure of ydamper 31, as above described. lDuringthereturn motion of theyfunnel carriagethe roller 61 mounts the runway 62,A and thek parts assume the position shown in Fig. 10 with cam portion 58 rotated against the action of spring v57V to` raise valve j ylifter 55a .permitting cementing material to fall upon the mica upon the conveyor. .Near the extreme left end of travel of the funnels the: rollery passesl off the runway and the' valves 55 again close the orifices bythe spring 57 turning the cam portion 58 about its pivot.

rial deposited during the previous return 'of the funnel carriage, the conveyor having ad* vancedfsuliiciently during the cycle of movement of the funnels. y

y To distribute and compress the cemcnting material depositedfbythe cementing device above described, the conveyor 32 carrying a layer of mica flakes upon cementing material is made to pass under .a weighted roller 63. Any suitable material may beused for roller 63 such as paper or felt.i

The belt 32 carrying the layers of mica flakes and cement-ing material, after passing under the roller 63, enters the gas oven 2 in' which it is subjected to indirect heatingv to drythe binder. The oven 2 is made sufficientlyllong to insure adequate drying of the binder. As shown in Fig. 6 the o'venic'omprises .acha'mber 64 through which the conveyor passes and which is not exposed to the products of combustion, and a surrounding chamber in which gas burners 66 are located. A manifold 67- preferably leads from the chamber 64 to a vapor condenser (not shown) to recover any products evaporated from the binder. A manifold 68 leading from the chamber 65 discharges the gases of combustion into the atmosphere. desirable to control the heat of the oven and for this purpose the oven is provided with suitable thermostats and gas pressure regulators. These have not been illustrated as they are well known and form no part of the present invention.

Upon leaving the oven, the conveyor passes around drum 52 while the produced mica board is wound on a drum 69 driven synchronously with drum 52 by means of a chain 70. After the removal of the mica board the belt 32 is cleaned by passing through a cleaning solution contained in a pan 71.

Then it is desired to make the mica board upon a. layer of paper or cloth, a roll of such material may be placed at 72 and allowed to unwind on top of belt 32 so that the micaflakes will be deposited thereupon. desired to have a layer of cloth or paper upon the upper surface of the board as well, a second roll of such materal may be placed at Y72a and allowed to unwind on top of the deposited mica. flakes and binder. Preferably material unwinding from roll 72a. will be made to first pass through a container of binding material. This has not been illustrated, as obviously it may be readily accomplished'by any suitable arrangement of rollers.

The above description of my machine is complete with the exception of the device for feeding mica flakes to the box 22 from which they are lifted by suction, and the means for the return of the excess mica in the box to the feeding device. Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 12 and 13, these parts comprise a hopper 79 into which the flakes are fed, an intermittently operated feeding device 74, the box 22 emptied by automatically operatedV dampers 75 land return pipe 76 through which the excess mica is returned to the hopper 7 Sby pressure from the blower 77.` The feeding device 74 is driven by a motor 78 operating throughthe variable speed transmission 79 and chain 80. At 81 is diagrammatically p indicated any suitable clutch device to be opera-ted by the movement of the funnel car- 12) into the box 22.

To provide a tight connection between the It isl r (Fig. is).

If it isV bottom ofthe funnels and box 22 the funnel carriage is arranged to descend over the box until the funnels are sealed by resting upon strips of flexible material such as felt, covering the edges of the box. This facilitates the lifting of the mica flakes by suction. The lowering of the funnel carriage is insured by providing a runway 84a with suitably cut grooves for each .of the wheels 84 of the funnel carriage. The box 22, with its inlet opening 83 is also provided with an opening 85 Air entering through both of these openings, 83 and 85, creates a draft which is of great advantage in the proper distribution of the flakes upon the screen.

For the best operation of the machine I have found that it is important to completely clear the box 22 of the excess mica during each cycle of the funnel movement. In order to accomplish this, the bottom ofthe box 22 is closed by dampers 75 automatically operated by the movement of the funnel carriage. Arms 86 attached to dampers 75 are tripped by finger 87 attached to the funnel carriage. In Fig. 12 the finger 87 is shown as about to open a damper 75 by turning arm 86 against the tension of spring 86a which is attached at one end to the box 22 and at the other end to the arm 86. The dashed lines indicate the position of the arm 86 and damper 75 after the funnel carriage has moved further to the right. Conversely, Fig. 13 shows the finge-r 87 'about to close a damper 75, the full lines indicating the open position of the damper 75 and arm 86, while the dashed lines indicate their position after movement of the funnel carriage to theV left. It will be noted that doors. 75 are closed only when the funnel car riage is over the mica box 22 in position to pick up a layer of mica flakes.

The excess mica emptied from the box 22 by the dampers 75 drops into troughs 88 and from there into the pipe 76 to be returned to the feeding device.

I have now described a complete machine for automatically producing a continuous length of mica board of any desired thickness. If the board is desired in short lengths, the apparatus of Figs. 14 and 15 may be substituted for the drum 69 o-f Figs. 1 and 2. This device comprises a cut-off knife S9 operating in guides 90 and controlled by cams 91 and a transfer means having fingers 92 for lifting the cut lengths of mica boards and depositing them on a receiver' 93. The cams 91 are shaped to slowly raise and then release knife 89. They are driven synchronously with belt 32 by means of a chain 94. Endless belts 95, passing over pulleys 96, one set of which is driven in timed relation with the main machine by chains 97, receives the cut lengths of mica board. The ngers 92 of the transfer device are located between belts 95 and are rigidly attached to a shaft 98. The shaft 98 is driven by a weighted segmental gear 99, the

tal gear.- 100, 'connected withthe ymain drive ofthe machine'through suitable chains 101 and gears 101e. A length of mica board,`cut byknife k89.1passes onto 4belts 95 and over fingers {l2-'until it reaches a stop 102 onthe trans-Y fer device.: Gears 99 and 100 are then inv osition lto engage and rotate shaft 98 and ngers 92 to pick up the cut micaboard and depositv it'- upon thel receiver 93. Further rotation of gear 100 disengages 'itsteeth with those ,of gean99 and permits the' weight of gear 99 to swing the llingers 92 back to their original position. `The vtiming of these operations and length of fingersy 92 'are so adjusted that the fingers in returning Vto position between belts 95 kclear the advancing edge of the next piece of micaboard.

In order to make clear the operation of my machine as a whole I have described certain.

parts thereof in considerable detail. I do not wish, however, to be limited beyond the scope of the appended claims, as obviously many parts of the machine could be varied and certain parts added or omitted without departing from the spirit of my invention. I do not wish, for instance,to be limited toa single feeding mechanism, 'to a single suction mechanism, or 'to the particular suction and ccment'feeding control devices illustrated. It is not essential to my inven-` tion that the suction ymechanism reciprocate parallel to the direction ofltrav'el of the conveyor, but only that it is arrangedkto lift mica flakes from the `feeding deviceand deposit them upon the conveyor.

I claim:

1. In an automatic machine for making mica board, the combination comprising a feeding device for mica flakes, a continuously moving conveyor, a reciprocating device for lifting the mica flakes from said feeding device and depositing them on said conveyor, a device for depositing cementing material between successive deposits ofmica on said conveyor, and interrelated driving means for said reciprocating device and said conveyor including a rack connected to said lifting and depositing means, a member rotated in timed relation with the conveyor drive, and means on said rack adapted to engage with said rotating member to cause said rack to reciprocate longitudinally with unidirectional rotation of lsaid member.

2. In an automatic machine for making mica board, the combination comprising a feeding` device for mica flakes, a continuously moving conveyor, a reciprocating device for lifting the mica flakes from said feeding device and depositing them on Said conveyor, a device for depositing cementing material. between successive deposits ofmica on said conveyor, and interrelated driving means for said reciprocatmg device and said conveyor including a rack connected to said movin mmvcyor. a

lifting and depositing means, a rotatableA 'l member connected through a clutch mecha-l nism with the conveyor drive, coacting means on said rack and'memberito cause longitudi ynal reciprocation of said rack with unidirectional rotation of said member, and a cam for controlling clutch mechanism shaped to arrest the rotation of said member during lifting of mica flakes from the feeding vdevice i f 3'. In an automatic machine for making mica board, the` combination comprising a feeding device for micaflakes, acontinuously d reciprocating' device for lifting ythe mica flakes from said feeding de-ry vice and depositing vthem on said conveyor, a device for depositing fcementing material between successive deposits of mica on said' conveyor, and interrelated driving means rfor said reciprocating ldevice and said conveyor said device for depositing binding material being carried bysaid lifting and depositing meansandbeing provided with valve controlled orifices adapted `to be operated by the `coaction 'ofa member carried by said devicewith astationary member on thev framework of the machine. y f

LInan automatic machine for making micayboard, the combination comprising. la feeding'device formica flakes including an intermittently operated power driven memberand aboX lreceiving micav Hakes there' from, aconveyor, means for successively lifting mica flakesfrom said boxbysuction and depositing jthem upon said conveyor, interdeposition; means and for said conveyor and meansk for depositing cementing material bctweenfsuccessive deposits of mica upon. said conveyor. n

'5; Thecombination as in claim l including meansfor emptying saidboX of excess mica after-each lifting of mica flakes therefrom andmeans for returning the same to said power driven member of the feeding device.4 c

6. In an automatic machine for making mica board, the combination comprising a feeding device for mica flakes, a continuously moving conveyor, a suction device including. funnelsand al screen carried by a carriage for lift-ing flakes from said feeding de-` vice onto'the screen, for carrying the lifted flakes toaposition over said conveyor and fory depositing them thereupon, .a damper for mg means carried by the lifting and deposit-` controlling the suction in said funnels, means normallytending to close the damper, stationary means adapted to hold the damper KVopen against the lastmentioned means when the suction devicegis kin a position over the feeding'device and to release the same upony said stationary means and to release the damper at another position of said suction` device.

' 7. The combination as in claim 6 wherein the controlling means for the damper include a weight connected to a projecting arm of the damper and tending to close the damper, a latch device carried by the damper comprising a horizontally projecting member and a vertically projecting member mounted on a common shaft, a stop attached to the damper casing adapted to engage the horizontally projecting member of said latch device to hold the damper partially open, a

fixed stop adapted to engage the upwardly projecting member of said latch device at one extreme of travel of said carriage to rotate said projecting members and to thereby permit the weight to close the damper by the release of said horizontally projecting member, and another fixed stop adapted to engage the damper arm to open the damper against the pull of the weight at the other extreme of travel of the carriage.

8. An automatic machine for making mica board including' in combination a feeding device for mica flakes, an endless conveyor, means for successively lifting mica flakes from said feeding device and depositing them upon said conveyor, a device for depositing cementing material between successive layers of mica upon said conveyor, an oven chamber heated by indirect heat and provided with openings at either end for the passage of the conveyor therethrough, re-

ceiving means for removing the produced Y mica board from the conveyor, and interrelated driving means for said conveyor, said lifting and depositing means and for said receiving means.

9. An automatic machine as claimed in claim 8 including also a Weighted roller mounted on the framework of the machine in advance of the oven and adapted to bear upon the deposited layers of mica and cement to distribute the latter. i I 10. The combination as in claim 8 wherein said receiving means includes a vertically movable knife for cutting the produced mica board into given lengths, cams driven in timed relation to the conveyor drive for lifting said knife and permitting it to fall upon the mica board, a receiving table and A- means for transferring the cut mica board to said receiving table, said transfer means being rotatable by a segmental gear adapted to engage through a definite arc with a second segmental gear driven in timed relation with the conveyor drive, said first mentioned gear being so weighted as to return the transfer means through the definite arc when said gears are out of engagement.

11. In an automatic machine for making mica board, the combination comprising a feeding device for mica flakes, a continuously 

